Sapphire
by jaywolfe
Summary: The team found something new about Danny Taylor. Will it bring him and Martin together or tear them apart before they even begin something?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I don't own anything. Characters are not mine because if they were, I would have had them follow my every command. Also, don't sue me. I only own a toothbrush.

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Untitled

_Martin's POV_

The atmosphere in the office was light. We, the team, were working silently at our respective desks on paperwork. The silence was occasionally broken with jokes and turns to get coffee refills. We haven't a case so far, which was a good thing considering the toll our last case had on everyone. A child had been missing for two days before the parents called it in. It made our blood boil whenever we think of the case. Fortunately, we had found the child and was in the care of the Child Services.

Everyone had been on edge. We had all lost our cool. I had understood the reactions from Vivian, Jack, Elena, and Sam but Danny was a mystery. He had threatened the parents and almost succeeded in beating the hell out of the father until I stepped in. I was sure I didn't want to explain to Jack Malone just why one of his agents was arrested on manslaughter.

The gang had tried repeatedly to get Danny to talk about what was bothering him. Our usually talkative member was closemouthed and at exactly five on the dot, he leaves the building. I was worried about the Spanish man. It wasn't like the Danny I know and love. Yeah, yeah, you can laugh now. The son of Deputy Director Fitzgerald, the impeccable Martin "Fitzie" Fitzgerald, was on the narrow path. It took me a long time, too, to accept the fact that I was attracted to the brown eyed man. My heart didn't think it could take any more the way it always constricts with pain when Danny was in trouble of sorts. I would do anything in my power to make sure that Danny was safe once and for always. I just have to convince him of my intentions. However, I am sure that Danny didn't feel the same way about me.

_Narrator_

Danny Taylor, for his part, was very aware of the blue-eyed man who constantly occupies his thoughts. His heart was already taken by a beautiful green-eyed creature but he always has room for his Fitzie.

Danny's thoughts were broken by Jack, exiting his office with the look of a man with bad news. "We have a disappearance of a 15 year old at Skylar Elementary. We-"

He broke off when Danny cried out, "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

They all looked at him. He was about to say something when his cell rang. He grabbed it off his desk and looking at the displaying number, he swore. The girls' looked at him with surprise, not to mention Martin, who was looking quite like an owl.

"Taylor," Danny answered. He was anxious to get to the school. He listened to the caller intently then he hung up. He looked at Jack. "Can I go ahead?"

Jack said, confused, "Sure but take Martin with you."

Danny looked stricken. He darted a look at Martin and back at Jack. He opened his mouth to protest and shut it quick at the look on Jack's face. Resigned, he glared at Martin as if it was his particular fault that Jack didn't want to listen to what he was going to say. "Hurry it up, will you?" With that, he stalked out of the room. After sharing an incredulously look with the gang, he followed Danny.

_Martin's POV_

We made it to the school in record time. Danny jumped out of the car as soon as the keys were out of the ignition and ran through the courtyard. As for me, well, I was thinking that if that is how it is like in the NASCAR, I am certainly not looking at being a race car driver as a back up job. I followed Danny at a run. I wanted to find out just why Taylor was keen on getting to the school as if his life was depended on it.

I caught up with him in a school hallway just as a woman, most likely the principal, walked up to us. I was about to introduce ourselves when the woman spoke, surprising me. No, the woman speaking didn't surprise me; it was her words.

She looked and sound relieved when she held out her hand for Danny to shake. "Special Agent Taylor, I really appreciate you coming here personally. I couldn't get her out of the storage. She refused to come out or even talk to me through the door."

The poor woman was ready to cry but she held herself in check. I didn't know who she was talking about and how she knows Danny but I was very intrigued. Danny looked even paler than when Jack announced we had a case at this school. I tuned back to what Danny was saying.

"Which one?" He simply asked. The woman led us down another hallway and stopped in front of a door with the word "Custodian" on it. Danny wasn't looking at her but his words were for her. "The rest of my team will be here shortly. Could you talk to them about the situation while I deal with this?"

The woman nodded, her eyes shining with pity and resignation. She walked away from us. I turned to look at Danny and was about to say something when he knocked on the door.

"Sweetie, it's me. Come on out, I need to talk to you," he said. Ok, now I am _really _confused. Danny went on. "Sapphire Heather Taylor, get yourself out here right now or I am going to be really mad." WHAT THE HELL?! Is there something Danny Boy wasn't telling us?!

The lock on the door clicked and it swung open. The next thing I knew, a girl of about five or six walked out. Her braids were hanging over her shoulders and her hands were clasped tightly in front of her. But what caught my eye were her eyes. They were a beautiful emerald green but it was clouded by sadness, grief, and loss. I was shocked when Danny bent down to her level and took her into his arms. I didn't think anything could surprise me anymore when the little girl, now known as Sapphire, burst in to tears.

My heart stopped when she said, "They took him, daddy. I know they took him. I told him so many times to be careful but he just won't listen to me. Now look what happened." She pulled away from Danny-her father!- and took his in her hands, tears running down her face. "You'll find him and bring him back, won't you, daddy? You always find people, don't you, daddy?"

Danny looked up at me, his eyes shining brightly with tears. He folded his crying daughter in his arms and said, still locking eyes with me, "Yes, love, I will bring him back."

It was then that I knew that everything had changed.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: For you.

_I know I said Skylar Elementary and that the missing person is 15 years old. I am combining elementary and junior levels together, like how it is in my state. Well, some of the schools. _

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Chapter 2

It was that moment that I knew everything about Danny Taylor had been defined. The man that he had become equals to the revelation that is standing in front of me. As I stood there, not really feeling anything, I realized that the man that I thought knew better than anyone, especially Elena, on our team, I don't really know. And it kills me to come to this realization. I was brought out of my musings by Danny himself. I glanced at him; he was gathering his daughter (I don't think I will ever get used to that) in his arms and was standing before me.

She was holding him pretty tight around his neck but he managed to speak. His face gave no impression, however, to what he was thinking or feeling. We just locked eyes and try as I might, I couldn't read him.

He said softly, "I'm going to take Sapphire to get something to drink. If you see Jack before I do, tell him I prefer Vivian questioning my daughter." And with that, he just walked away. I was dumbfounded. What the hell do I look like, his personal messenger?! And why do we even have to question his-his daughter? Damn it all, it's going to take a lot getting used to Danny with a child. In a bad mood, I stalked off to the school office. I found Jack and the girls' already in there talking to the woman from earlier. It turned out that she was the principal.

She stopped speaking when I entered. Jack saw me and began the introductions. "Mrs. Tanner, this is Special Agent Fitzgerald. Martin, Mrs. Tanner. She's the principal and who called in our missing person."

We shook hands and she gave me a small smile. "It's finally a pleasure to meet you, Agent Fitzgerald." I was pretty darn confused and I guess she interpreted my expression correctly because she said, "Sapphire talks a lot about you. Mind you, she talks about every one of her father's team but you're the constant occurrence in her speech."

Confusion came from everywhere.

"Sapphire?"

"Which father?"

"Martin?"

I held up a hand to stop everyone when Danny walked in, now with Sapphire walking beside him, holding his hand. She looked like she hadn't been crying but the way she tensed up when she saw us was a giveaway on how uncomfortable and scared she was feeling. But I also saw determination and courage. I could tell this little girl is just like her father.

I looked at Viv, Sam, Elena, and Jack, gauging their reactions to Danny and the little girl. They all looked pretty confused and puzzled. Viv said, "Danny, who's this young lady?"

Sapphire Taylor looked positively glowing at Viv's inquisition. She glanced at her father and asked, "May I?" Danny smirked at her. I didn't know what was transpiring between them and judging from the looks on the others' faces, they didn't know anything, either. Danny said in a warning tone, "Fire, be nice."

She rolled her eyes at him and he said, "Attitude in check, young lady." In turn, she gave him a charming smile. Well, I know now that she inherited her father's smile. That smile always makes my heart beat. Properly admonished, she said, "I'm sorry, sir." I didn't know what to expect but it certainly wasn't what happened next. She addressed all of us and proceeded to knock the wind out of us.

"Hello all. My name is Sapphire Heather Taylor. I am six years of age and I am a second grader here at Skylar Elementary and Junior High." She turned to Jack. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Special Agent Jack Malone. Daddy looks up to you, do you know?" Turning to Vivian, she continued. "It's finally great to meet you, Special Agent Vivian Johnson. Daddy talks about you a lot. He says you're like a mother to him. I think it's great that he found someone who can be of a mother figure to him. His mother wasn't really around when he was little. Thank you for caring about my dad. He's very important to me." Turning away from Vivian's stunned expression, she addressed Sam, "Ah, Special Agent Samantha Spade. Daddy likes you a lot. Before you flip out, no, he doesn't like you that way. He says you're like the sister he never had. I like you, too, from what I can make of what Daddy talks about." She held out her hand for Elena to shake. "And Special Agent Elena Delgado, it's a pleasure to meet you. I hope you don't take offense to what I am to say. I like you but Daddy made a very big mistake dating you. It's not that you're not beautiful or anything but you are hardly my father's type." I couldn't stop my jaw from dropping any further onto the ground. Elena looked disgruntled and despite Sapphire's advice, looked very much offended. At last she turned to me. She tilted her head at an angle and was studying me like a scientist would its experiment. She then said, "I'd know you even if I never see your face. It is my pleasure to meet you at last, Special Agent Martin Fitzgerald." Ok, this kid is really blowing my mind. I chanced a look at Danny and found him smirking at our reactions. Stupid Taylor, I really am not feeling any love for him at this moment.

I shook Sapphire's hand and said, "It's nice to meet you, too, Ms. Taylor. For our part, your dad had never talked about you so I hope you don't take offense that we had never heard of you before now."

The little one shook my hand and moved back to her father's side, saying, "Don't blame my father. It was both our decision to not mention me to all of you."

Danny looked at us with a look of sympathy. "Pardon my daughter. She is too smart for her own good and so doesn't know when to hold it in." He mock glared at Sapphire and spoke to us again, "I'm really sorry you guys have to find out like this but well, you can say I have no choice in the matter."

Before we could say anything, Sapphire started again. "To save you the time of taking me downtown and questioning me on your territory, I'll tell you of my relationship with Spencer McCallum, your missing person. He is one of my best friends. Yes, yes, he's older than me but he babysits me when daddy is late from work. I help him with his homework and he helps me with, well, I'll get back to you on that. And don't go thinking that a hormonal teenage boy and a young girl should not be in each other's presence. My father is not so stupid as to employ Spencer's time in looking after me. Besides, Spencer is gay. That would hardly give him, for lack of a better word, to rape me. This brings us to his disappearance. I do believe that he had been tortured by some guys in high school because of his sexuality. I warned him many times to be careful but noooo, he doesn't listen. If you're looking for people to question about Spencer, one of them is Gary, his boyfriend. He's a senior in Skylar High. You should look into his friends. They were the one who were tormenting my friend. They don't know Gary is batting for the other team because that boy is so far in the closet that you would have to be in Narnia to find him. But whatever you may think of him, Gary really cares about Spencer. So that's all, I should think."

Sapphire Heather Taylor is _really_ blowing me away. All of us were looking at her as if she just grew a second head. How can a six year old talk so much like an adult? What does Danny feed her, for crying out loud? A child should not be talking like that. I glanced at the team. Jack looked positively stunned, Viv was wide-eyed, Sam's mouth was wide open, and Elena dropped into a nearby chair. Ok, so maybe we are overreacting, but come on! You can't blame us.

I guess Sapphire took our silence for something else because she sighed and looked up at Danny. "I guess I still have to go downtown with you, huh?" Danny's laugh rang through the silence in the room and crouching, picked up his daughter. "Yes, Fire. This means you still have to go downtown with us."

She sighed, dropping her head on his shoulders. I made out her grumbling as, "Really, Dad. I thought your team was smart but they certainly do not look like it."

Sam groaned and mumbled, "I didn't even talk like that when _I_ was six years old."

Yep, everything is certainly changing.


End file.
